EATEN BY LIONS (12A, 95 mins) Three stars
Half-brothers embark on a haphazard road trip to the bright lights of Blackpool in director Jason Wingard's bittersweet and multicultural buddy comedy.
Co-written by David Isaac, Eaten By Lions purrs gently for 95 minutes with a couple of uproarious interludes that play to the strengths of Britain's Got Talent finalist Jack Carroll, who pokes fun at his cerebral palsy in his stand-up routines.
He delivers some cracking one-liners in his feature film debut, boasting about his powers of seduction to co-star and foil Antonio Aakeel - "I'm like George Clooney in a frame" - who maintains his poker face as Carroll delivers risque material about children's homes with precision timing.
The young leads are surrounded by an ensemble cast of homegrown talent including character comedian Tom Binns as a bogus fortune teller, whose hilarious predictions linger in the same realms of ridiculousness as his spoof spirit medium, Ian D Montfort.
Various facets of the Lancashire coast provide picture postcard backdrops to the characters' emotional turmoil including the arresting image of two people kissing as fireworks explode over the criss-crossing red arches of the pleasure beach's Big One steel rollercoaster.
Thankfully, Wingard's picture is a gentler ride.
Omar (Aakeel) and Pete (Carroll) are orphaned at a young age when their parents' romantic hot air balloon getaway crash-lands in the lion enclosure of a safari park.
The boys' grandmother (Stephanie Fayerman) takes them in and encourages Omar and Pete to look out for each other.
When she eventually passes, the half-siblings are condemned to the questionable care of their acid-tongued aunt Ellen (Vicki Pepperdine) and her henpecked husband Ken (Kevin Eldon).
They propose adopting Pete but not Omar because, in Ellen's words, "You're not our side."
Desperate to find a place he belongs, Omar ventures to the coast to track down his biological father, with Pete in tow.
En route, the lads encounter seaside worker Amy (Sarah Hoare) and her uncle (Johnny Vegas), who runs the Castle Del Ray bed and breakfast.
Omar's quest for an identity leads to a bumbling man child called Irfan (Asim Chaudhry), who runs the first Pakistani and Indian gift shop in Blackpool.
Irfan offers a feeble explanation about the one-night stand that led to his son's birth - "I hate contraception. I can't even spell the word!" - but Omar craves acceptance and love, not pitiful excuses.
Eaten By Lions is threaded with the same earthy humour as East Is East, albeit with fewer belly laughs and a narrower focus on the power dynamics within Irfan's dysfunctional family.
A harebrained subplot involving Irfan's shy sister Parveen (Natalie Davies) feels undernourished as it strives to shatter cultural stereotypes.
The script periodically stumbles, but winning on-screen chemistry between Aakeel and Carroll cajoles Wingard's picture back to its feet.
Also released...
DUMBO (PG, 112 mins) Three stars
You'll believe an elephant can fly as quixotic director Tim Burton unleashes his imagination on a live-action reworking of Disney's celebrated 1941 animation.
Kentucky horseback rider Holt Farrier (Colin Farrell) returns home from war to the circus run by Max Medici (Danny DeVito).
In his absence, his two children Milly (Nico Parker) and Joe (Finley Hobbins) have coped alone with the death of their mother from influenza, which hit the circus community "like a hurricane".
Holt lost his left arm on the battlefield and his family's horses were sold to pay Medici's debts so the proud father is forced to work with the elephants.
Soon after, one of the animals gives birth to a floppy-eared baby, which Medici christens Jumbo.
Milly and Joe discover that Jumbo can fly with the aid of a feather and their father utilises the animal's gravity-defying ability in a daredevil fire-rescue routine with the clowns.
When news spreads about Medici's miracle act, ruthless showman V. A. Vandevere (Michael Keaton) cleverly persuades Medici to join his big top, promising jobs for the entire troupe.
The money-grabbing entrepreneur hopes Holt can train Jumbo to take flight with graceful aerial artiste Colette Marchant (Eva Green) on its back.
Preparations for Jumbo's spectacular debut begin in earnest as Vandevere woos his major financial backer, Wall Street tycoon J. Griffin Remington (Alan Arkin).
THE VANISHING (15, 105 mins) Three stars
Produced by leading man Gerard Butler, The Vanishing is a psychological thriller directed by Kristoffer Nyholm, which draws inspiration from the Flannan Isles mystery.
In December 1900, three men - grief-stricken Thomas (Peter Mullan), doting husband James (Gerard Butler) and emotionally scarred orphan Donald (Connor Swindells) - are posted to a rugged island 30 miles off the Scottish coast to man a lighthouse.
It's a punishing day-to-day existence and the three men rely on each other to overcome the elements and their boredom.
The discovery of a dead body and a chest containing gold bars stokes greed and paranoia between the co-workers.
Two threatening strangers, Boor (Olafur Darri Olafsson) and Locke (Soren Malling), arrive on the island asking uncomfortable questions about a missing crew mate and a chest.
Consequently, Thomas, James and Donald give in to base instincts and spark a brutal and bloody battle for survival.
Nyholm's film is available to stream and download from April 1.
AT ETERNITY'S GATE (12A, 111 mins) Three stars
Willem Dafoe was deservedly nominated as Best Actor In A Leading Role at this year's Academy Awards for his formidable performance as tortured painter Vincent Van Gogh in director Julian Schnabel's heavily stylised biopic.
At Eternity's Gate concentrates on the final years of the artist's life.
Vincent travels to Paris to visit his younger brother Theo (Rupert Friend), where hbe befriends fellow creative Paul Gauguin (Oscar Isaac).
The men trade similar views about the artistic scene in the French capital before Vincent continues his travels to the South of France, in search of inspiration for his divisive and misunderstood work.
Vincent's emotional state spirals out of control during a prolonged stay in Arles and a deeply concerned Theo persuades Gauguin to visit.
His arrival temporarily soothes Vincent but when Gauguin departs, Vincent severs his ear and the painter is consigned to a mental hospital for his own safety.
FILM CHART
1. Captain Marvel
2. Us
3. Fisherman's Friends
4. What Men Want
5. Five Feet Apart
6. Fighting With My Family
7. The LEGO Movie 2
8. Kesari
9. Instant Family
10. How To Train Your Dragon: The Hidden World
(Chart courtesy of Cineworld)
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